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Looking for new games from small/first time/indie publishers? Well, look no further! The crowdfunding is coming fast and furious in the board gaming world. Here is a shotgun blast of a few Kickstarters with currently running campaigns which I’ve had my eye on:

First up is Deck of Thieves! The designer for this light card game has been very active on Board Game Geek throughout the design process, soliciting advice and ideas on how to improve the game. The art is simple and nice, and the designer has already successfully self published another game through Kickstarter. The game itself looks fun and entertaining for those looking for a filler type “take that” style card game. As of this writing, Deck of Thieves has five days left in its campaign, and has already exceeded the funding goal.

After my pleasant experiences with both Belfort (review here) and Village, any Kickstarter from small but growing publishing house Tasty Minstrel Games gets an automatic second look from me. Their newest offering is a super light “push your luck” style dice game called Dungeon Roll. In it, you’ll lead you band of heroes into deep dungeons in search of treasure. How far you go is up to you, but if you can’t defeat the monsters you find there, you’ll lose everything you’ve collected. This looks like another fun filler from a company with a proven track record of quality products. Right now, Dungeon Roll has six days left in what is already a wildly successful campaign.

I’m not even going to try and explain Emperor’s New Clothes. Just read the Kickstarter page. The Designer is a very well known and respected board game reviewer and the game is being published by Game Salute/Springboard, a well known (though perhaps not universally respected) publisher. The game is already over-funded and the Designer promises that it is not a joke and that there will be a big reveal the day before the campaign closes: on April First.

And last, but not least:

The Machine of Death game Kickstarter was an instant back for me. I’m a fan of those involved and I read and greatly enjoyed the first book. The game is a sort of party style faux-RPG affair in which you are given a cause of death and some items which must be involved. Then you make up a story about how the death actually happens, roll some dice, draw some cards, and laugh and squeal. It sounds like some simple fun with only a loose goal and flexible rules. The campaign needs no help from me as it is already waaaaay over funded (it is over $362,000 as of this writing) and the stretch goals keep on coming. You’ve got six days left to grab this one!

Well, that’s it for now, so go waste some of your hard earned cash making someone’s dream come true and pledge!

Although this information has been out for a couple of weeks already, I thought some folks might not know that a new Discworld game is on the horizon and comes from Martin Wallace – the same designer as Discworld: Ankh-Morpork. This new game, titled The Witches: A Discworld Game, can apparently be played as a solo, co-op, or competitive game. The game supports from one to four players, each taking on the role of a Discworld witch (the playable characters will be Tiffany Aching, Petulia Gristle, Annagramma, and Dimity Hubbub.) It is scheduled for release this September with the US version being produced by Mayfair Games.

When I find out about a game I think sounds or looks appealing, I’ll usually read some reviews, check out the rulebook online, and I’ll even read some common questions and answers about it on the BGG forums. Sometimes, after that, a game will just catch my imagination. I can see myself playing it. And loving it. I’ll build it up so much in my mind before I even have it, that it can’t possibly live up to my expectations of what it could be like (or can it?) Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective is one such game. And recently, I had an opportunity to give it a swing. What did I think once I had it in my hot reasonably sized hands? Read on and find out!

*** As with previous reviews of game of this nature, this review will contain NO SPOILERS (as long as you don’t read the notes in the images TOO closely, and even then it probably wouldn’t mean much.) ***

Is this thing working? Yes! A working computer – with internet access. Amazing. This log is to inform anyone who finds it about what caused the end of humanity. The Mayans were right, and on December 21st, 2012, the world was destroyed. But it didn’t come from fire or flood, no. It came in the form of a series of massive bacterial plagues, killing almost everyone, and soon one of them will take me. This is the story of the Pandemic.

And of course, by that I mean Kingdom Death and “No taxation without representation” – one of the rallying cries for the American Revolutionary War! Today, I’m going to talk briefly about two games currently on Kickstarter, one of which I have already backed and the other of which I am quite curious about. Let’s start with 1775: Rebellion.